THE DEATH OF BELANICA | Serbia and Kosovo

The Historic Origins

1331-55: Reign of Serbian King Stepan Dusan, who expands the boundaries of Serbia to their largest area: from Belgrade to present-day southern Greece, including Albania and Kosovo. Archbishop of Pec (in Kosovo) becomes the patriarch of the church.

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1389: Prince Lazar raises a multinational force to fight the Turks in the Battle of Kosovo Polje (Field of the Blackbirds) in Kosovo. Legend claims that Lazar, in a dream, chooses to die rather than to live in shame. Both Lazar and the Turkish leader are killed. The Turks claim victory.

1882: Serbia declares independence from the Turks, but under the influence of the Austrian empire.

1878-1912: Serbs leave Kosovo in large numbers.

1912-13: Balkan Wars begin. Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro join to remove the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans. Serbia conquers Kosovo and massacres Albanians. Serbs gain control of almost all remaining Ottoman land in Europe with the Treaty of London.

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Beginning of Modern Era

1914: Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinates Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Within weeks, Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire declare war on Serbia. World War I begins when Britain, France and Russia leap to Serbia's defense.

1918: Serbs expel Austrians. Allies award Kosovo to Yugoslavia despite opposition from Albania. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is created, with Belgrade as its capital.

1920: Belgrade starts a resettlement of Serbs in Kosovo. Coercion, illegal expropriation of Albanian-owned land and forced deportations begin.

1929: King Alexander institutes dictatorial rule and renames the country Yugoslavia. Serbs are the most powerful group.

1941-45: Germany and Italy conquer Yugoslavia and open gates of Kosovo to Albanians, who arrive in droves. Germans dominate region with terror. Hitler allies with Croatian fascists and creates Nazi puppet state of Croatian. Germans occupy Serbia and send Serbs among others to concentration camps established in Croatia. The Partisan resistance movement forms under Josip Broz Tito, a communist.

1945: After the defeat of Germany, Tito reorganizes the Kingdom, declaring the People's Republic of Yugoslavia a federation under Communist rule and suppressing ethnic rivalries.

1945-1980: Tito's 35-year dictatorship is a period of relative peace and stability.

1968: First pro-independence demonstrations by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

1974: Tito's constitution makes Kosovo an autonomous province.

1980: Tito dies.

1981: Kosovo Albanian college students start protests that escalate into riots. Thirty thousand soldiers are sent into the province.

1987: Slobodan Milosevic becomes leader of Serbia.

1989: Milosevic revokes Kosovo's autonomy. Ethnic Albanians riot. Milosevic addresses the Serbs on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo Polje. More than 20 killed in protests.